Return to Dust
by TehUnoman
Summary: Reluctantly heeding the last request of the vengeful former Queen of the Underground, Cinder goes to track the rampaging human, but is stopped by the possible source of her newfound fears...
1. Dusty Falls

**So…it's been awhile.**

 **Life's been rather busy, with me job-hunting, trying to get a new PC after the CPU melted – seriously, it's like I have bad luck with these damn things. First the hard drive taking a shit, next the CPU clocking out; at this rate, the tablet I'm using's going to drop into a cliff the next time I use it.**

 **That said, I haven't gotten the chance to write out anything cool. About the most I've done was make a new thing with Undertale about something going awry before the big main fell down. Before that, a crossover between the aforementioned game and Fallout, and that went ker-put weeks in. And before that, Terra Hunter, which garnered a lot of interest because it split from the usual path of 'sudden new guy appears in Remnant, gets found by certain main characters, and then…'persuaded' into becoming a student or teacher, blah blah unimportant side-story, blah blah fighting big bads, blah blah preventing the sinking of the S.S. Arkos and collapse of Vale in one fell swoop.'**

… **that's about 75% of most of those crossovers.**

 **So before you go thinking, 'oh look, another main character from RWBY falls into the Underground, meets the big main, goes being all pacifist/geno on the monsters, kills/spares the soulless freak, etc. etc.,' here's how it will begin instead:**

 **First, a particular big bad of the RWBYverse will take the main stage.**

 **Next, they won't meet the big main – until they catch up with them. Honing takes awhile, after all.**

 **Also, this isn't a split-path decision anymore. I know how this will turn out, and many favorites will not see the end.**

 **Finally, there will be ideas that weren't thought of before. All I'll say about it is that you need to recall what the big bad's abilities are, and how they'll pertain to the situation.**

 **That said, this A/N ramble is over! So, sit back and watch helplessly as some of your favorites Return to Dust.**

* * *

Crickets singing a tune only heard to them. The wind, dancing to the tune in the leaves of the trees. The forest, breathing deeply, slumbering under the pale moonlight, fractured as it may be.

Interrupted every so often by the shuffling of feet on the leaf-covered floor, and the grunting of a person in pain. Orange eyes, burning with the magical power stolen from a Maiden, wincing as her hand grasped her side, the large, charred scar leaving a hole open in an otherwise lavish, silk-red dress. She discarded the glass heels a while back, the footwear making the trek complicated. Bare feet on the ground made it worse, but better as she had a better grasp on the ground.

Plus, no leaves pierced and stuck onto the heels is a major upside.

"Damn her…how did I forget about that tale?" she grunted in pain.

The scar came from a force far older than the Tale of the Seasons. Legends spoke of warriors, gifted with silver eyes, that could decimate the Creatures of Grimm with a single gaze, and freeze Ancients with unbridled fury and concentration. Ruby Rose, the most recent of this legend, caused massive damage against the Dragon the False Maiden called forth – which, in turn, froze itself solid to recuperate from the wounds sustained – with a single strike. She, too, was also struck by the same power, casting her off the side of the tower while the fire that remained ate away what it could before the Maiden's power halted it's advance.

That didn't, however, mean that the phantom pain left. Every few minutes, she could feel the burning of her body and soul from the blazing silver, and it was AGONY. The fact she was still mobile, let alone conscious, was impressive.

But that didn't matter much. Not when one was wandering the Emerald Forest at night. She could feel the gaze of the damned, their bloody eyes watching her every move, following her limp with careful steps of their own. Growling, snorts, squeals, and the occasional hiss echoed through the dark, forcing her to remain alert.

Where were the crickets? Where was the dancing wind?

The following stopped at a clearing, and she felt their hesitance. Curious, she turned around, and found a sight that many wouldn't find; they were keeping the young back from charging forth. But why?

She couldn't tell why, but upon looking back to where she was headed, the mountain had a presence of unease. Almost as though something was crawling on her. The False Maiden swiped at her arms, back, legs, chest, but didn't feel even the smallest ant on her form.

The scar was becoming irritating, moreso as she climbed the mountain. The corruption of the Grimm began to fade as she walked away from them, slowly becoming paranoid.

"Why would the Grimm avoid following me up a mountain?" she muttered, keeping her movements quiet. "As far as I can tell, there aren't any caves that could – ah!"

Her ramblings were interrupted as she stumbled upon a cave, a large one at that. The presence was overwhelming here; every fibre of her being was screaming at her, telling her to leave the area. The Maiden now knew what it was; a feeling so primal, in the days of old, before Dust became Humanity's saving grace: FEAR.

Whatever it was, she knew it commanded the attention of everything around. A savage grin overtook her features; it also meant that if she found it, she could control whatever held this Aura, and continue her rampage. After healing herself, of course. Personal health came first, after all.

She walked into the cave, the feeling grew stronger with each step. At one point, the power thrust out on its own, lashing at the dark. That caught her attention; if even the Maiden's power feared whatever lied within, it wasn't meant to be taken lightly. Lighting a fireball in her right hand, she pressed on, the feeling becoming almost unbearable.

The False Maiden almost considered turning back and leaving, but one last step took away the pressure immediately. She turned in each way, throwing a fireball in each direction, hoping to find whatever's causing this distress. The feeling of being toyed with…

She did not like that feeling.

But she also didn't like the feeling of falling into a pit because she misplaced a step going backwards. Thinking quickly, she used the power to slow her descent.

Onto a bed of yellow flowers.

* * *

Looking around, she found many pillars in the room she was in now, a hallway that led somewhere, and looking back up, the hole she fell into. Amateur's mistake; look before you leap, or look before you unintentionally fall down into a surprisingly well-kept garden.

She thought about flying back up through the hole, but was stopped short of that thought when she shot a fireball up towards the hole, and it dispersing immediately upon reaching the edge of the hole.

So much for making a quick getaway. She sighed, and winced again as the scar she felt flared again. The False Maiden needed to find a way to heal this, and fast. Slowly, she limped on, through the hallway, and found an open passage.

"Must be a way out," she muttered. Stepping through the arch, she was disappointed that it wasn't the exit, but instead, another room. This time, there was a small patch of grass, with the moonlight shining onto the patch. There were signs of something burrowing underground, and footsteps – small ones – leading out of the room.

"Might as well press forward; until I find a way out of here, I've got nothing else better to do," she said normally this time, as there was no one there.

The next room had a purple color to it, the red leaves reminded her of the Autumn she obtained. But…there was something in the air. Almost like ash…

Something must've been on fire. Or…is currently burning. She raced forward, ignoring most of the things around her, stopping at a bridge. Which was full of spikes.

"Joy…" she sarcastically cheered. "I wonder if I missed something."

She wasn't disappointed; a sign informed her that the solution was the pattern in the other room. It was cleverly designed, but perhaps too easy to cross after remembering it.

After that, there wasn't anything impressive or noteworthy to remember, except that the further she went, the thicker the ash became. For some reason, she felt something…odd as she passed through it. Almost as though she was looking through the memories of people. It unnerved her, and made her speed through the location.

She soon came upon a large, leafless tree, ringed by the same red leaves, and a purple house. It looked very homely. Almost reminded her of her old life, before…

…she shook her head violently, perishing the train of thought before it went down a dark path. She went in, and the ash was thick. She found stairs leading down, and the sounds of morose laughter could be heard. She moved forward, waving away the ash in front of her face. She soon approached large double-doors, and in front of it, a pile of ash.

She gave a dismissive, passive glance to it as she walked towards the door, and stepped into the material. In her bare feet.

In her haze to try and figure out who's the pyromaniac, she forgot to reform her heels, and paid a price as the ash flared, pushing forth an image into her mind, and brought a fragment of her own consciousness into a small room.

* * *

The False Maiden looked around fervently, confused beyond belief, and her eyes landed upon a figure she never would have thought to have seen in her lifetime: A monster. A real, living, breathing, monster. It had the features of a goat; horns, floppy ears, white fur, and snout, and was bipedal. It wore a purple robe with long, white sleeves, and a crest of something marked in the stitching.

And their expression was one of fear, trepidation, and distrust.

"Another human?" it-no, she-spoke, taking steps backwards. "What do you want? To kill me, like the other one did?!"

"Wha-? There's another human down here?" the False Maiden asked. "…did they cause this?" Her curiosity was growing.

"They did. And are about to wreak havoc on the Underground," the goat woman spat out. "Why do you care?"

"'Underground?' You mean, the story of 'The Kingdom of Monsters' is real?" she asked, doing her best to hide her excitement.

"It is, but not for long. I won't ask again; why do you care about what that human does?!" the woman growled.

"…you're right." She stated, surprising the monster.

"What?" the goat monster asked, confused.

"Honestly, why should I care? They haven't done anything to me – as far as I know – and you appear to be the only one to have a personal vendetta against them," the manipulator spoke. "So…give me a reason as to why I should care. Because, unlike them, I can just leave here without any repercussions."

"How…?" she asked, and her eyes widened upon seeing the Maiden's power flare in the thief's hand.

"Because if it took magic to seal you in, I can use it to get myself out. So…" she pulled up a chair, turned it around, and sat in it. Her arms rested on the back, and she placed her chin on her arms, a victorious smirk growing on her face.

" **Give me a reason to kill them.** "

* * *

 **So, let's list the things that have happened currently:**

 **1: Ruby wounded Cinder.**

 **2: Cinder fell into the Underground.**

 **3: The Eighth Human is a genocidal maniac.**

 **4: Cinder has the ability to communicate with the fallen monsters through their dust, but truly found this out from unintentionally meeting a deceased Toriel by stepping into her dust.**

 **At this point, Cinder could very easily leave the Underground without blinking, if she wanted to. Only reason she couldn't from above is because the scar caused by Ruby actually dampens the SOUL's strength. If she entered without the scar, she could very easily flew up, left, and the story wouldn't even be a story.**

 **She'll recover, eventually, but for now, the Underground awaits.**

 **Let's see if I can actually keep this up for once…**

 **See you guys next time!**


	2. Regal Vengeance

**I swear to god, if anyone throws anything at me, I will make your character(s) suffer in this story!**

… **if I ever get to it.**

 **So, currently, I'm 3D Printing things now for money. I need it to buy a better setup – PC, livestream equipment, the works – and improve my life. If you want to see what I'm printing as of now, I have a page that'll give not only information, but a way to buy these products. I currently only have one thing for sale, but as I receive funding, I'll design and print more products. That said, go to tehunoman to see what I'm doing.**

 **Also, this is the point in which I'll begin updating the summary alongside the story. Why? Well, I wanted something a bit different, and this was one of the things I had in mind.**

 **Now then…let's Return to Dust, shall we?**

* * *

"G-give you a reason?" the monster asked, hesitantly.

"Yes," Cinder said. "The moment you give me a reason to kill them, I'll do it, no questions asked." She looked around, and noticed the room began to slowly degrade. "And, judging from the looks of this place, you don't have long to convince me. So, get to it."

The goat woman was hesitant, and couldn't say anything. The False Maiden sighed in annoyance.

"How about we start with names?" she suggested.

"That sounds wonderful," the monster said a little too eagerly. "I am TORIEL, caretaker – er, former caretaker of the RUINS, the place you were going to leave."

Cinder was about to use a false name, but remembered that she was dealing with a dead monster, and saw no harm in telling her the truth. "Cinder Fall, wielder of the Autumn Maiden's power."

Toriel's eyes widened at the title. "So, the Story of the Seasons is still true, then?" she asked.

"They are," Cinder replied. "But that doesn't matter. What does the fate of the Underground, and convincing me to put an end to it before it begins."

Toriel hesitated, before seeing the scarring on Cinder's side, feeling the power embedded into it. "H-how about a trade?" she began.

"You have nothing of value to me that I want," the False Maiden said immediately.

"What about the removal of that wound?" the goat monster replied, pointing at Cinder's side.

The woman looked at it, eyeing it over before turning back to the other occupant in the room. "You have my attention, Toriel," she said.

"Whoever caused this wound, it's not going to heal right," Toriel explained. "If you ensure the end of the…thing's…rampage, then I can remove the affliction in this state."

It was a tempting offer. For one, she would no longer be crippled, and forced to take a slow pace while traversing the Underground. Another positive would be that her Aura would not be as encumbered with focusing on healing damaged nerves, muscle tissue, and skin, and can refuel her magical reserves.

The only downside was that she'd be indebted to the goat monster in her final wish. It's not something she particularly enjoys, and would want to avoid it. But, considering the implications if she didn't stop the murderer…

"Alright, Toriel, you have a deal," Cinder said, standing up. "I'll bring the human's destructive path to square one; you have my word."

The former queen smiled in relief. "I have faith in you, child," she said softly, the room glowing brightly as Cinder is assaulted by Toriel's past.

* * *

She blinked once, and realized she hadn't moved from where she stood in a while. Moving her right foot, she realized the ash – no, dust – was gone. Her left hand instinctually shot down to her side, and felt smooth skin.

Indebted to the former Queen of the Underground…

"Why couldn't someone else save the Underground?" she asked rhetorically.

* * *

A girl in a red hood, fast asleep, sneezed. A black and white Corgi looked up, growled, and ran out of the room, a plan in mind.

* * *

Cinder, now fully restored thanks to the former caretaker, walked through the door her dust settled in front of, and soon found herself at another patch of grass.

This time, however, it was occupied by a yellow flower. With a face.

"Well, well. Not one but TWO murderers in the Underground?" the flower spoke, it sounded very ecstatic about the situation. "I can tell, you know, by the way your hands are stained with blood! Ooh, I can't wait to tell Chara about thisAGH!" It was interrupted by a fireball shot directly at their face.

"Hm, so this is what the queen warned me about; a talking flower that is more poisonous than the breed it came from," Cinder said, completely unconcerned.

That caught its attention immediately, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I'm calling your bluff, because last time I checked, she's now a pile of dust," it snarled.

"Oh, in any other situation, you'd be correct," the False Maiden replied. "However…I have my ways of getting the dead to talk. Ways no one here can achieve."

"Such as RESETing?" the flower said. "Get real. I had that same power too."

"…what?" Cinder's face said all that was needed for the living flower to recoil in surprise. And fear.

"Wait, you…you don't know what RESET is?" the thing asked, incredulously.

"Should I?" she said, uncertain with the events taking place.

"Uh…um…this…this isn't good…" it muttered. Cinder prepared another fireball. "Well, I have to go, sooo…bye." The projectile struck the grass, immolating it, and not the flower that burrowed into the earth.

"RESET…what does that flower think this is, a game?" she asked. "In real life, there are no second chances."

She walked over to the other door, and realized it was already opened, some snow piling out from the small line. Shoving the rest of the door open, she walked out into a snowy world. The air felt tense here as well, yet not as dusty. Cinder sighed, and continued her path.

* * *

The feeling from before…it returned. Like the entrance to this world, it grew only stronger as she walked forward. A large stick stood before her, and she gave it a dismissive glance before walking over it.

Five seconds later, it snapped. Cinder's head twirled around to face the branch, every nerve firing off danger signs. She resolved to move at a much quicker pace, not daring to look behind her, even as a few footsteps echoed through the woods.

The pressure relieved itself the moment she was near a bridge. Cinder took a moment to look around. The trees here were barren, the bridge was somewhat short, and…were those bars too wide?

Who was trying to keep her – or the other human, for that matter – out? Paranoid monsters, maybe, but…

The moment she was a foot away from the bridge, the pressure returned in full force, freezing her movements solid. Then, the footsteps returned, echoing around the snowy forest, and becoming louder. It was getting closer; Cinder feared only a few things in her lifetime, and whatever this thing was, it was certainly going to become a new one.

It stopped behind her, and spoke: " **n. D o n ' l? d.** "

Her body didn't listen to her as it turned around on instinct, every nerve screaming to get away from the speaker. It held out its hand, and her own reached out to grasp it.

The sound of a whoopee cushion rang out, killing every ounce of fear Cinder harbored for the…skeleton?!

…well, there's something you don't see every day. A skeleton, wearing a blue hoodie, black shorts, and…slippers.

If the 'Tale of the Underground' wasn't true, she would have pondered what kind of psychedelic Mercury slipped her. Or Roman, for that matter.

"heh, the good ol' whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it never fails," the skeleton said. All Cinder could do was gawk at the skeleton in surprise.

"eh…this is the point where you'd laugh," he continued, clearly unnerved. The woman shook her head, dispelling the confusion.

"Sorry, I…just wasn't expecting that, or the fact that you're…a skeletal monster, I assume?" she said. This seemed to relieve the skeleton.

"it's OK, i was coming on a bit hard. anyway, the name's sans, sans the skeleton, so you are assuming correct that i am a skeletal monster," Sans replied.

This one she'd have to lie her way out of; Sans, regardless of the irony, is a living monster, so any connection made with those on the Surface would spell disaster for her. However, it didn't mean she couldn't use the names of those fallen. "Penny Nikos," she said.

"well, penny, you're a human, right?" he asked. "i mean, you assumed that i was a skeleton, so am i…?"

"Yes, I am a human, Sans," 'Penny' replied, rolling her eyes.

"ah, well, that's hilarious. see, i'm supposed to be watching for humans…but i'm really not into that," the short skeleton said.

"Oh? Are you some form of guard or something?" the False Maiden asked.

"kinda. 'sposed to capture humans, but that's more my brother's thing, anyway," Sans said, shrugging.

"Well, that brings some small comfort," she muttered. Then, remembered Toriel's request. "Has there been another human here? I need to find them."

"sure has, they just went up the path ahead," the skeleton supplied. "and, uh, might i ask why?"

"…an old lady requested that I stop them," she replied, uneasily. "They…turned to dust, after they asked that of me." Sans' eyes darkened – or, rather, the pinpricks of light that he had vanished, leaving pits of darkness.

"'Old Lady?' if you're talking about the same person i'm thinking of, you'd best not be lying… ** Y o u ' e,**" he said, the pressure returning instantly.

Was he the source?

"I believe I can prove it," Cinder in disguise replied. "You know where that massive door is?"

He nodded. "Good, follow me, and you'll see the truth yourself."

* * *

Cinder shoved the door open, and had to wave her hands to get the dust away from her face. It was still thick. Sans stood behind her, his left eye burning a brilliant blue. Without her knowledge, of course.

The duo walked into the Ruins, neither saying a word as they walked down the hallway. 'Penny' opened the door into Toriel's basement, and Sans stopped dead.

Toriel's robe, lying on the floor, dusty. The air thick with the same material. The skeleton turned his head towards the False Maiden, almost as though he was looking into her soul, and sighed.

"well, at least i know it wasn't you that did this," Sans said in relief. Which turned to immediate horror. "my bro, he's with the human; he's not safe."

"Where would he be at this time?" she asked.

"…at the edge of waterfall, waiting for them," he muttered in fear. Luckily, Cinder heard it.

"Then why are we standing here for no good reason?! We have to stop them now!" she stated.

She felt him grab her arm, and was about to protest before seeing the look on his face, and noticed his eyes were closed. "don't worry…" he started. When he opened them up, one was empty, and the other blazed with magical power.

" **i know a shortcut.** "

* * *

 **That's right.**

 **I went there.**

 **Those that don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry, it doesn't concern you.**

 **Those that do, however…**

 **Come fight me.**

 **Quick facts:**

 **1\. Cinder has been healed, and doesn't have the scar anymore.**

 **2** **. Sans knows of the fate of the Ruins, and of Toriel.**

 **3\. He might have a few theories on his mind, but I won't say anything more about that.**

 **events of the Death Run are still somewhat the same.**

 **5\. A Corgi is doing something when no one important is looking; we should all be slightly concerned.**

 **So! There's that little basket of sorrow. Can't say anything more than that…oh! Actually, there is one thing.**

 **Read carefully in the future. Some events may take place that are entirely out of place with this story, but they'll make sense eventually. A lot of things are far more connected than you may think, so note everything that doesn't look right story-wise.**

 **Whelp, after this, I'm going to pull the A/N from above down here, to get people to not have to read walls of text before the main story. See you guys next time!**


End file.
